Sermon for the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed for Midweek Lent 4. The Scripture readings used during tonight’s service were Psalm 51; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16; and John 14:15-21. Another important text is John 16:8-11.
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
What does this mean?
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith; in like manner as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in this Christian Church, He daily forgives abundantly all my sins and the sins of all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead and will grant everlasting life to me and to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In this series, we have seen first, how the Father creates and sustains us; second, how the Son redeems us through His humiliation and exaltation; and now tonight, we will begin to consider the Holy Spirit and how He sanctifies us.
Sometimes, Lutherans are accused of not talking about the Holy Spirit enough. People today think the Holy Spirit is at work when they get a particular feeling or emotion because of things going on around them. Scripture is very clear that feelings are not a good gauge to determine whether or not the Holy Spirit is at work.
Now, maybe it is a fair assessment to say Lutherans don’t talk about the Holy Spirit very often. But it should be noted that the Holy Spirit is very content not being talked about. In fact, Jesus says that the work of the Holy Spirit is to point us to Him as our Savior. In John 15:26, Jesus says that when the Holy Spirit comes, “He will bear witness about Me.” In other words, whenever you hear about Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sins, you can know without a doubt that the Holy Spirit at work in you creating faith.
We learn most about the Holy Spirit in John 14-16, some of that you have already heard. In that section Jesus repeatedly calls the Holy Spirit the ‘Helper.’ The word Jesus uses means ‘advocate, intercessor, or mediator.’ In John 16:8-11, Jesus tells us how the Holy Spirit helps, advocates, intercedes, and mediates for us.
Open scene with video and verses.
Listen to those verses, “When [the Helper, the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” As we begin to consider the work of the Holy Spirit, we should think about each of these.
Flip verses slide
First, Jesus says the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin “because the world does not believe in Me” (Jn. 16:9). Notice that Jesus doesn’t say that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin because they are so horrible.
We think that the opposite of sin is good works, and without the Holy Spirit, we wrongly think that our sin is something we can manage on our own. We imagine we can hide the stains of our sin by being kind to those around us. We think we can distract God from our lust, anger, pride, and selfishness with a few good works here and there.
But the opposite of sin is not good works. Romans 14[:23] says, “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” The opposite of sin is faith in Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
So, as the Holy Spirit convicts us concerning sin, He shows us the depths of our sin, but He also points us to Jesus who has taken all our sin and punishment. The Holy Spirit shows us that we are fools if we think our sin can be taken away by anything other than the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin showing us that we need Jesus to be our Savior. But when the Holy Spirit has convicted us of our sin, He isn’t done. There is still more Spirit convicting to do.
Flip verses slide.
Second, Jesus says the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning righteousness “because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer” (Jn. 16:10).
The Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to convict you concerning righteousness. In other words, because Jesus has died, you are righteous. You are completely freed from those sins which should separate you from God for eternity.
Satan, the accuser, comes along and tries to tell you that God doesn’t love you. He lies saying that Jesus’ death and resurrection isn’t enough. He comes along and tries to tell you that you aren’t really a Christian and have been fooling yourself. Or if you call yourself a Christian you aren’t a ‘true Christian’ or a ‘committed Christian’ or an ‘on-fire Christian.’ But the devil’s whispers to you are all hogwash.
Listen to what the Spirit says to you in the Scriptures: The Holy Spirit says Jesus became sin for you so that, through faith in Christ, you have become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). You have been made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (1 Pet. 1:16). The Holy Spirit promises that there is no condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus (Ro. 8:1). The Holy Spirit shows you that the righteousness you need has been totally and completely provided for you by Jesus who went to His Father saying, “It is finished.”
And the Holy Spirit still isn’t done.
Flip verses slide.
Jesus says the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning judgment, but notice He convicts concerning judgment not because you are judged, rather “because the ruler of this world is judged” (Jn. 16:11).
Christian, when you suffer, when bad things happen to you, you might think that God is judging you. But the Holy Spirit comes and says to you that you are not the target of God’s judgment. Satan is, and he always has been.
When God confronted Adam and Eve in the Garden, the first judgment He gave was to the devil. God promised that He would send Jesus to crush the serpent’s head. Jesus has come and done just that.
The Holy Spirit’s work is to bring all this out into the open. Because of what Christ has done for you, you are not God’s enemy. God demonstrates His love for you that while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you (Ro. 5:8). And even when you were God’s enemy, here’s how He treated you – He reconciled you to Himself by the death of Jesus (Ro. 5:10).
Go to regular video.
All of this is the Holy Spirit’s work. The Holy Spirit convicts you concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit takes all the work of Jesus and declares it to you (Jn. 16:13-15). He is your Helper, your Comforter, your Advocate. Through Spirit’s working, He opens the Scriptures to you creating, sustaining, and strengthening your faith while He guides you into all the truth.
So, dear saints, believe. Believe that your sin is paid in full by Christ’s shed blood. Believe that Christ’s righteousness covers you. And believe that you are judged worthy of eternal life because of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is at work right now through God’s Word so that you can discern and understand the mind of the Lord. As you listen to the Spirit speaking and guiding you through the Word of God, you know what is on God’s mind – your redemption and sanctification. Through all of this, you are given the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). You are not left as an orphan. The Holy Spirit is with you and working within you to sanctify you and all Christians as God’s own child (Jn. 14:16-17). Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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